


The Peace Post Pals

by Endrina



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Epistolary, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:28:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28427814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Endrina/pseuds/Endrina
Summary: Help bridge the war division one letter at a time! Presenting the Peace Post Pals, a bonding initiative to connect people in opposite houses and sides of the war and create a more compassionate wizarding society. Get to know your enemy and make a friend!
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Comments: 98
Kudos: 152





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to Rachel for betaing 💛

Dear Peace Post Pal,

That is fun to write! _Peace Post Pal._ Although I think it is not so fun to hear or read. Let me know if you want me to call you something else. Of course, you don’t have to tell me your name. I know how important anonymity is for the program. That’s why the insist on us using this notebook rather than sending an owl which is silly because: 

1) Who recognizes other people’s owls? Unless they are a striking colour, I don’t think people can tell one owl from another. I admit that I dislike the notebook because I had a very bad experience with a diary, but nevertheless, it seems like a bit too much. I do like the idea of filling the notebook with our conversations. That diary I mentioned just swallowed the words and left the page black which should have been an immediate clue of what an awful thing it was. 

2) We know we are not going to like the other person. That is the point of the Peace Post, talking to someone you wouldn’t normally talk to. It shouldn’t matter if for some reason you have memorized a catalogue of owl owners in Wizarding Britain and therefore you realize your new Post Pal used to be a fan of genocide. We know that already. The point is getting past it and being Better. 

Which is why I keep trying despite not having a good experience so far. Perhaps that makes me a bit of a hypocrite. Here I am, saying we should be better than the previous generation and strive for true unity after the war and reach out to the enemy and get to know them as a person; but I have failed to make any progress three times already. 

To be fair, all three times I was paired with the same person, so we could call it just one extended failure. And he happens to be my life-long nemesis. That’s asking a lot, don’t you think? It’s one thing to get to know and maybe even befriend the person who wanted you and your kind dead, it’s another thing to befriend the guy who broke your nose and left you petrified on the Hogwarts Express. 

_For fuck’s sake, Potter!_

Hey, Malfoy!

_Are you laughing? I can feel you laughing! Do not laugh. It is not funny._

Come on, Malfoy, it is funny. 

Four times now!

_No, it’s not funny. We are being_ mocked _and they know it. I have gone to the Peace Post office twice to demand an explanation and every time they sent Lovegood to talk to me until I gave up._

Ay, yes, that would be a good delay strategy. 

_Delay strategy my ass, they know I won’t curse her because she is my cousin._

Thadeus Nott is your cousin too and just the other day I saw you hex him in the middle of Diagon Alley.

_Don’t play the idiot, Potter, it doesn’t suit you. You know perfectly well that’s different._

How is it different?

_One is criminally stupid and dangerously delusional and the other is Lovegood._

I am laughing now. Did you feel that?


	2. Two

I saw you on Diagon Alley today. I would have gone over to say hello, but you were busy hexing Thadeus Nott.

Again.

_If I am going to be known as a dark wizard, I may as well behave like one and reap the benefits._

And what are the benefits of being a dark wizard?

_Other than the constant Auror surveillance? I don’t suffer imbeciles._

Oh, you have me convinced right there.

_That sounds ominous. What’s the matter, Potter?_

Just, dealing with lots of idiots lately.

_Is it the werewolf proposal or the house-elves?_

The werewolf proposal.

You would think that all the problems would come from the house-elf rights, what with people relying on them for work and whatnot. And really, there is quite a lot of pressure against treating house-elves with the most basic decency. But, still.

The werewolves.

People spent years not thinking about them and now that we mention that maybe we could treat them like, oh, I don’t know, _human beings_ , they act as if I were asking to hand me their babies for slaughter.

That’s not hyperbole. I got a letter saying just that today.

_There is a lot of stigma around werewolves. Of course, it doesn’t help that many of them decided to join our Dearly Departed Dark Lord, but mostly is the old tales. You can’t change people’s perception in a day._

_I suppose you have taken Professor Lupin as an example of a Big Good Wolf._

Yes. I even got letters and testimonies from Hogwarts professors and students saying how great Lupin was. Kingsley gave him a posthumous Order of Merlin, first class.

And people say he was great “despite” being a werewolf, but they won’t go further. It seems they will only accept werewolves if they have the grace to die as war heroes.

_Well, I can’t help you, Potter. If I knew anything about washing a dirty reputation, I wouldn’t have Aurors spying on me from trees outside the house. Unfortunately, I know nothing of bettering one’s image and poor Mister Gladcombe is fighting an angry robin right now._

Good Lord, I thought you were exaggerating when you spoke of constant Auror surveillance.

I am sure they could use those resources better.

_It’s hardly any bother. As Cousin Nott will tell you, it’s not very good surveillance. They are merely waiting for me to slip up, murder a muggle or two and declare my undying allegiance to the dark lord so they can arrest me and put me in my rightful place._

But they won’t arrest you for hexing your cousin.

_Perhaps they saw you there and thought you would want to bring down the wicked wizard yourself._

I don’t know, I think you were doing a pretty god job of bringing down the wicked wizard yourself. It was an excellent cramping hex.

_Thank you! It’s nice to see that someone appreciates my gifts._

Just don’t practice it on Gladcombe.

_I would never. I am merely leaving some strengthening potions by the bird feeder. But that’s only to even the fight._


	3. Three

_Harry Potter, if you go ahead with the statue in the Gringotts plaza to honour Snape I will kill you myself._

Oh, I am quaking in my fuzzy slippers. No one ever has tried to kill me.

Why the resistance in any case? You would think that you would appreciate having a Slytherin shown in a positive light for once. Snape was a war hero.

_I appreciate it all right, but Snape was an arsehole and doesn’t deserve a statue._

What.

_An arsehole, Potter._

_If you want to recognise a nice Slytherin, you have Aurora Sinistra right there._ _She is a war hero and washes her hair frequently_

Professor Sinistra is a Slytherin?

I had no idea.

_Talk to the Plymouth Runners. She muddled the sky numbers during the war so they could run their rescue operations without Death Eater interference._

What?

_Sky reports. They are needed for portkey settings. She was giving the Plymouth Runners the numbers so they could set portkeys and evacuate people to France. Meanwhile, her reports to Voldemort had the wrong calculations so it looked like the operation couldn’t be done in the first place and they didn’t send any Death Eaters after the Runners._

How do you even know that?

_Dear Aunt Bella suspected something. Fortunately, she was better at torturing people than doing numbers so she couldn’t replicate the calculations well enough to see what Sinistra was doing._

And?

_And?_

And how did you know what Professor Sinistra was doing?

_I am much better than Aunt Bella at reading a celestial map._

Oh, piss off, Malfoy. You are telling me you can estimate star positions in your head and see a discrepancy when others could not? I took Astronomy with Ravenclaws, I know how much parchment it takes to make the calculations right.

_I’m a man of many talents._

Exaggeration being the main one.

_It’s really sad that you can’t admit my superior intellect._

I can admit your superior ego.

Now, tell me how did you know what Professor Sinistra was doing.

_Such little faith in my gifts. I am wounded, Potter. Wounded at the core of my shrivelled black heart. I shall write to the Peace Post office to complain about your unfriendliness and hostility._

_I just happen to pay a lot of attention to Venus’ position in the sky, so I knew at a glance that there was something wrong because I had done my own estimations._

Maybe I should propose to make a statue of you. That was the most Slytherin answer I could get. You gave me an explanation while clarifying nothing and raising more questions.

Why do you happen to pay attention to Venus, Malfoy? I know it’s not because of Divination class.

_No._

_It’s because Venus is easy to identify and from it, I can make a celestial dome to play solo Quidditch at night._

_I don’t do it as much now, but during the war I played every other night._

I know about solo Quidditch, but I don’t think I get the dome thing.

Tell me more.

_You charm the field to make a dome and put the night sky in there. Then you release a snitch and spend an hour or two searching for it between the stars._

_It’s nice. Very peaceful._

That sounds beautiful.

_It is._

_Hey._

_I don’t have use of Malfoy Manor anymore so I can’t play in the field there, but there is a public Quidditch field in Chetnole. I can take you there and show you, if you want._

I would love that. Can it be any night? Next Friday?

_Yes, it can be any night, you just have to prepare the map beforehand. See you there at sunset, then._

See you, Malfoy.


	4. Four

My throat hurts.

_I told you to put a scarf on. Flying at night is cold._

_By the way, I haven’t seen Gladcombe in a while. Did you have something to do with it?_

I had a word with Robards. It was stupid that they were following you.

_Why, Potter! I am scandalised. Were you using your position and influence for your personal purposes?_

You can just say “thank you” and leave it at that.

In any case, it was stupid management of Auror resources simply because they can’t let go of ideas from the past. Thadeus Nott might not have a mark on his arm, but he sure would like to. He is much more dangerous than you.

_He is._

_I could be, too. Dangerous, I mean._

_And I am now free of any supervision. I could get up to all kinds of wicked things._

_Maybe this was all a clever plot to earn your trust and get rid of Auror surveillance so I can get to my dark endeavours._

Mmh, it could be.

And yet, somehow, I don’t think subterfuge is your forte, Malfoy. You don’t have the patience.

And I don’t think surveillance makes much difference in your case.

_What makes you think that?_

Oh, I don’t know. Perhaps the fact that Lorelei Kyteler developed sudden cramps in her arm and legs that left her incapacitated to apparate or floo to the Ministry the day we were voting the werewolf proposal.

_Did she, now? Poor dear. And she was so excited to make her speech against the proposal, too._

_How unfortunate._

_Of course, I had nothing to do with it._

Of course.

_And if I did, that would just show my dark and violent tendencies._

Indeed.

I suppose I will have to keep a close eye on you, then. Make sure you don’t make me look bad with the Aurors.

_You should. Can’t trust a Slytherin, reformed or not._

_As a proof of good will, I will let you know that I intend to go to the Grey Great Dragon this evening._

_In case you want to do some surveillance of your own._

Much appreciated. Who knows what you would get up to?


	5. Five

Dear Peace Post Pal,

I have to admit that even at my most optimistic, I never expected something like this from the program. The letters helped me see people in a different way.

Unexpected results, but a success of the program in any case.

_Are you really writing right now? You soppy idiot, come back to bed._

_Bring tea!_

On it.

_Actually, forget the tea. Just come back._


	6. One (again)

Hello, random person.

I don’t really believe in this silly PPP program. I don’t think one can just let go of certain things. There is too much blood and hurt on both sides.

Of course, you will say there is far more blood on my side. And you will be right. So, why even bother?

People hold on to their pain, and rightly so, and I’m too proud to grovel for forgiveness. I don’t want forgiveness. What I want is for things to have been different. No stupid house division, perhaps, and obviously no Voldemort.

I want impossible things and it’s a sign of madness to expect the impossible.

You might wonder why am I even trying with this stupid notebook thing.

_I do, actually. Hello, by the way._

Hello, random good person.

Let’s be clear, I expect this to be an utter failure. People don’t forgive and forget. _I_ don’t forget my mistakes. Why would any other?

And they were _mistakes._ That’s another point people don’t get. That if I could, I would do things differently. But I can’t.

_Well, the Peace Post is a step. The mere fact that you are reaching out shows your repentance._

Oh, no, don’t give me that hippogriff shit.

Repentance. Please. Are you Finch-Fletchley? If you are Finch-Fletchley I will burn the notebook and the PPP’s office.

_I am not Justin Finch-Fletchley._

_But I am curious why would you even bother to do this at all if, as you say, people won’t forgive you and you don’t want forgiveness._

_Why put yourself through this?_

I’m doing it for someone else. They think it will work and I am sure it won’t.

We used to…be less than friendly and now we are very close. They think that more people would appreciate me if I just “let them get close enough to know me” and that I have “a lot to offer”.

He is an idiot.

Thank Merlin that he has me to look after him because people are not how he thinks they are. They are not nice, or kind, or forgiving. People are mean and selfish.

Everybody except him.

_Oh, hi, Malfoy._

\- A splotch of ink. -

What in the seven hells? Don’t they know about anonymity at the PPP?

_Oh, come on, you outed yourself. I don’t know any other arrogant idiot who is so close to Harry._

_I must say, the fact that you are doing this for him does speak well of you._

Ugh.


	7. Two (again) and last one

Hey, random good guy. I need your help.

_What is it, Malfoy?_

I need you to say I’m right. Then I can show the page to Harry and he will see that you, a random good guy, agree with me and therefore my plan is best.

_Oh, dear._

It’s about a gift.

_Oh, thanks Merlin. I don’t know what I was expecting, but. Okay._

_So you are going to give Harry a gift?_

No, you dense cabbage head. We are going to give someone a gift. For their birthday.

_Okay._

I already convinced Harry not to give that person a broomstick, so the hard work is done.

_He is inordinately fond of giving broomsticks. I don’t know why._

Because he associates them with freedom and they were one of the few good things for him at Hogwarts. Come on, I need you to be awake and alert for this.

_All right. So, no broomstick. Good. That person probably has one already._ I _have one._ _He gave me a top-line Nimbus after the war._

See? So we agree that a good gift is one that the person doesn’t already have.

_Yes. That’s usually good. Although I am of the opinion that one can’t have too many mugs._

Irrelevant. I am not giving anyone a mug. I have a reputation to protect.

_A reputation as an arsehole._

Yes. Precisely.

In any case. One should get a gift that the person wouldn’t get for himself. Granger agrees.

_Hermione has never been wrong in her life._

She has been wrong many times. Ugh. This blind loyalty of you Gryffindors is really frustrating.

_You are one to talk about loyalty._

Oh, you would prefer if my mother and I had remained good little blind followers like your lot? If I hadn’t questioned His Darkness’s plan?

_…_

_… …_

_It pains me to write this, but I see your point._

_Not everybody deserves blind loyalty._

_But Granger certainly does._

Right. Well. Back to the matter at hand.

We are looking for a gift for one of Harry’s friends. Something that the friend wouldn’t get for himself.

Harry wants to buy a thing called a “console”. It’s a muggle thing, not a furniture piece. It projects shiny colorful images and you can play games. Nothing like Exploding Snap. It’s more like a Goblin Maze board but more complicated and with sounds.

_Well, that seems very nice! I am not sure that it would work in a wizarding house, but it is certainly something few wizards would get for themselves._

Exactly! It might not work and you need a _television_ if you know what that is. Plus, not everybody can use muggle technology. _I_ don’t have a problem, of course, I pick things up quickly. But I understand it can be very frustrating.

_Right. Good point._

_Oh!_

_I have agreed twice with you today. This Peace Post is really something, isn’t it? I would_ never _have thought that I would agree with you on anything other than that Harry is great guy._ _Look at this!_

_So what’s your gift idea?_

Cursing his grandmother.

**_WHAT?_ **

She is a harpy.

**Terrible** person. Did more harm to Harry’s friend that even I could do with six years of bullying.

Obviously it wouldn’t be an unforgivable curse.

It doesn’t have to be a permanent one, either.

Just. Someone should tell that old hag to shut up.

_Malfoy._

I was thinking of _batracius oratio_. It’s difficult, but I know I can do it. Every time she tried to say something mean, a frog would come out of her mouth.

_What the fuck, Malfoy._

Well, this is something that he certainly wouldn’t get for himself and I think he would appreciate it.

_Malfoy you can’t go around cursing old ladies._

Please, she is McGonagall’s age. She is not a girl, but hardly an old weak lady.

And all the more reason to do it now rather than wait.

_I really don’t know what to say._

Just say it’s a great idea so I can show the notebook to Harry.

_I…Look, Malfoy. It’s an attractive idea, I won’t lie, but she was also the one who raised Neville._

_You are talking about Neville Longbottom, aren’t you?_

Perhaps.

_Right. So. For better or worse, she is the woman who took care of him._

Such care she took. Nagging and nagging and giving him a dozen complexes.

_Yes, but._

_…_

_Look. He has an uncle, doesn’t he?_

Er, maybe? I am sure he has more family. He is pure-blooded.

Hold on.

…

Harry says there is an uncle who dropped him from a window. Something about forcing Neville to do magic.

And I thought my family was strict and difficult.

_There you have it._

The uncle?

I suppose I could curse him with a _digitus fidgitus._ See if he can hold his own prick to piss. He will drop it seven times out of ten.

_Draco Malfoy, I think you have the perfect gift for Harry’s friend._

Thank you, random good guy.

_Oh, believe me, it was my pleasure._


End file.
